Garment



Dec. 10, 1946. B. P, GARRISON 2,412,502

GARMENT Filed Feb. 26, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 10, 1946. B. P.GARRISON GARMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1945 B. P. GARRISONGARMENT Dec. 10, 1946.

Filed Feb. 26, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 10, 1946- B. P. GARRISON2,412,502

GARMENT Filed Feb. 26, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented net. to, 194sUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT Bertice Pauline Garrison, Seattle,Wash.

Application February 26, 1945, Serial No. 579,808

8 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to garments and more particularly to anarticle of outer wearing apparel intended especially for women andchildren.

The new garment covers the trunk or torso of the wearer, although it mayoptionally include sleeves, and is intended to be used as a sleepinggarment, as a play suit or sun suit, as a pair of rompers, or for anysimilar informal sort of wear.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide an article ofwearing apparel of the type indicated which will be attractive inappearance and design; which will be sufficiently light and scanty incoverage to leave the legs and thighs of the wearer exposed whileproviding adequate covering for the bust and hips; which will beexceedingly simple in pattern and structure; which can be put on andtaken 011 by unusually quick and simple operations; which may be held onthe person of the wearer by a single fastening; which will beinexpensive to make; which will be loose fitting and comfortable; whichwill readily accommodate itself to any bending and stretching movementsof the wearer; and which will have numerous other and further advantagesas will be evident from the description hereinafter of certain preferredforms of embodiment of the invention.

The accompanying drawings illustrate certain embodiments of theinvention which have been manufactured commercially on a large scale andfound to be entirely satisfactory and which are therefore at presentpreferred by me. However, these embodiments are selected merely toillustrate the principles of the invention and not for any purpose oflimiting those principles to the precise details shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of one form of garment embodyingthe invention, with the parts shown in the positions which they assumewhen the garment is being worn;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the same garment, with the parts inthe same positions as in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view showing the same garment with itslower portion opened, the parts being in the positions which they assumewhen the garment is being put on or taken oil;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the same garment, with the parts inthe same positions as in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view similar to 2 that of Fig. 1 butshowing a different type of garment embodying the invention;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view similar to that of Fig. 2 butdepicting the garment shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a rear elevational view similar to that of Fig. 3 butdepicting the garment of Figs. 5 and 6; and

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view similar to that of Fig. 4 but.depicting the garment of Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4inclusive, the garment comprises essentially a waist l which may be ofany appropriate style and form and omamented with any suitable trimmingbut which I prefer to make sleeveless and comparatively plain andsimple, as shown. The waist includes a full length front section 2 and ashortened back section 3 which leaves an opening in the lower portion ofthe back as shown at 4.

The front section 2 of the waist terminates in its lower portion in awaistband zone at about the level of the waist of .the wearer. In thepresent instance the garment is provided with a definite waistband 5.Depending from this waistband, and preferably integral with it orpermanently sewed to it, is a lower panel 6 which includes an upperrelatively narrow section 1 connected at its upper edge to thewaistband, and a lower, relatively wide section 8. The two sections areintegral and are joined together by a constricted crotch zone or section9. The lower section 8 terminates at its bottom in a hemmed edge whichmay be given the form of a belt Ill and which may have belt members I I,I l extended from its opposite end edges.

A button I 2 may be secured at each opposite side of the front of thewaistband 5, and buttonholes I3 may be provided in the belt III forcooperation with these buttons.

The garment is worn with the waist I passed over the head and shouldersof the wearer and with the lower section 8 of the panel 6 turned up inthe rear in approximate parallelism to the plane of the upper section Iso that the belt I0 is at approximately the waistline, more or lessalined with the waistband 5 at the front of the garment. The buttons I 2and holes l3 are engaged, and the belt sections l I are carried aroundto the front of the garment where they are tied as in the bow form shownat ii in Fig. 1.

It will be noted that the comparatively narrow section 1 of the panel 6lies in the lower 7 front of the garment, while the wider section 8 ofthis panel extends around the rear, with its side margins l5. l carriedaround to the front.

to supplement the'coverage provided by the section I. In this positionof the sections it will be noted that openings for the legs of thewearer are provided at It, I, these openings being defined by theadjacent portions of the edges of the crotch zone 9, the upper and lowersections 1 and 8 of the panel 6, and the side margins I! of thesection'8.

- The garment is put on by an extremely quick and simple operation, aswill be evident from a comparison of vFigs. 3 and 4 with Figs. 1 and 2.with the parts in the open position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the waist isdonned, then the lower. wide section 8 of the depending panel .6 ispassed between the legs and pulled up the back, and then the beltmembers II, II are tied as the bow ll at the front of the waistbandzone. The buttons I! may be left disengaged with their buttonhoies I3,or they may be engaged, at the option of the wearer.

-The embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive isgenerally quite similar to that which has been described hereinabove,the principal difference being that in the embodiment of Figs. 5 to 8inclusive the panel which includes the upper and lower sections forcovering the trunk or torso of the wearer from the waist down isconnected to and depends from the back ofthe garment, or from thewaistband zone of the back, rather than from the front as in theembodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.

Thus, referring to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be noted that thistype ofgarment includes a waist in having a front section 2a and a rear section341. There is no opening corresponding to the opening 4 of Fig. 2, norany definite waistband like that shown at 5 in Fig. 2. However, there isa panel So having an upper, relatively narrow section 1a, a lower,relatively wide section 8a,

and an intermediate, connecting crotch zone orsection So, allcorresponding to the respectively similar parts of the previouslydescribed embodiment, with the sole exception that the panel dependsfrom and is connected permanently to the rear section 3a instead of thefront section 2a of the waist la as would be the case if the twoembodiments were identical.

The panel 6a terminates at its lower edge in a belt a having outwardlyextending belt members Ila adapted to be tied as a bow Ma at the back ofthe garment, as shown in Fig. 6. This belt may have a pair of outerbuttonholes l3a for receiving the buttons lZa positioned in about thewaistband zone, at the extreme sides thereof, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and7. A central buttonhole 20 may be provided in the belt lOa for optionalengagement with one of the buttons 2| of the waist, after that buttonhas been passed through the buttonhole 22 of the waist, if the waist ismade in the front-buttoned style shown at la. Of course this waist mightbe made in the closed, slip-over style shown at I in Figs. 1 to 4inclusive, just as it might be made without the sleeves of thatembodiment.

With the wider section 8a of the panel 6a passed between the legs of thewearer and held up in front, in approximate parallelism to the plane ofthe narrower section la which hangs at the back of the garment, sidemargins l5a of the section 8a are folded over the side margins of thesection Ia at the back of the garment, as shown in Fig. 6. Thisarrangement provides leg openings Ilia, quite similar to those shown atIS in the other illustrated embodiment of the invention.

It is believed that the uses and advantages of the second illustratedembodiment of the invention will be as evident as those of the first. Itis also believed that the drawings and the foregoing descriptionsumciently explain the points of similarity between the two types ofgarment by which each embodies the generic invention pointed out by theclaims appended to this application. Numerous details of the illustratedembodiments of the invention may be varied considerably within the scopeof the appended claims. Thus, for example, the shortened back section 3.of the waist l of the Figs. 1-4 embodiment of the invention may befurther reduced so as to amount to a mere strap for engagement aroundthe wearer's neck. or the waist may be modified so that it amounts tonothing more than a front section 2 with an opening for the wearersneck. This design is particularly appropriate when the garment is to bemade as a bathing suit, in which field backless garments are popular.Again, the proportions between the upper, crotch and lower sections 1, 9and 8 of the panel 6 may be altered. even to the point of making themall of about the same width, although I prefer the proportions shown inthe illustrated embodiments because objectionable fullness in the crotchis thereby eliminated and a better fit is achieved. The belt means III,II, II may be reduced to the form of a mere string, and it may be tiedor otherwise secured around the waist of the wearer beneath or outsideof the waistband zone of the front of the garment. In other words, ifthe panel sections 1 and 8 are of the same or approximately the same'width, it becomes immaterial whether the margins of the front overlap orunderlap those of the rear section. The garment can be worn either way.The choice will depend on the preference of the wearer, or'perhaps onwhether the garment is put on by first securing the neck opening aboutthe wearer's neck or by first tying the belt means in place andthereafter slipping the head through the neck opening or, if the neckopening is split, by closing it around the neck.

Other modifications in the illustrated embodiments, all within the scopeof the appended claims, will suggest themselves to those skilled in theart.

I claim:

1. A garment of the class described comprising a waist having a frontsection and a back section and having in its lower portion a waistbandzone, a panel extending downwardly from the lower portion of the waistand comprising a relatively narrow section connected at its upper edgeto one of the waist sections and a relatively wide section connectedwith the narrow section by a, constricted crotch zone, said wide sectionbeing turned up toward the other waist section in approximateparallelism to the plane of the narrow section to provide leg openingson opposite sides of the crotch zone, and the side marginspf the widesection being folded over the outside of the side margins of the narrowsection so that the side margins of the wide section substantially coverand conceal the side edges of the'narrow section throughout their wholeextent except the portions thereof adjacent to the crotch zone, andseparable fastening means for supporting the transverse free edge of thewide section at substantially the level of the waistband zone.

2. 'A- garment as claimed in claim, 1, in which the panel is connectedat its upper edge to the front section of the waist, the wide section ofthe panel forms the rear lower portion of the garment, and the sidemargins of the wide section are disposed across the front lower portionof the garment.

3. Agarment as claimed in claim 1, in which the panel is connected atits upper edge to the back section of the waist, the wide section of thepanel forms the front lower portion of the garment, and the side marginsof the wide section are disposed across the rear lower portion of thegarment.

4. A garment as claimed in claim 1, in which the transverse free edge ofthe wide section of the panel is provided with button holes and thewaistband zone is provided with buttons engaging said button holes.

5. A garment as claimed in claiml, in which a belt member extendsoutwardly from each side of the transverse free edge of the wide sectionof the panel in substantial alinement with said edge, said members beingadapted to be tied together at approximately the upper center of thenarrow section of the panel.

6. A garment as claimed in claim 1, in which the transverse free edge ofthe wide section of the panel is provided with button holes and thewaistband zone is provided with buttons engaging said button holes, andin which a belt member extends outwardly from each side or said edge insubstantial alinement therewith, said members being adapted to be tiedtogether at approximately the upper center of the narrow section of thepanel.

7. A garment of the class described comprising 7 a waist having a frontsection including in its lower portion a waist band zone and a backsection shorter than the front section and terminating at its bottomabove the level of the waistband zone, a panel extending downwardly fromthe lower portion of the waist and comprising a relatively narrowsection connected at its upper edge to the front section of the waistand a relatively wide section connected with the narrow section by aconstricted crotch zone, said wide section being turned up toward theback section of the waist in approximately parallelism to the plane ofthe narrow section to provide leg openings on opposite sides of thecrotch zone, and the side margins of the wideand narrow sectionsoverlapping each other, separable fastening means for supporting thetransverse free edge of the wide sections at substantially the level ofthe waistband zone, and an open space being left at theback of thegarment between the bottom edge of the back section of the waist and thetransverse free edge of the wide section of the panel.

8. A garment as claimed in claim 7, including cooperating buttons andbuttonholes provided on the waistband zone and the upper edge of eachside margin only of the wide section.

BERTICE PAULINE GARRISON.

